Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke with Pope Francis on Thursday about the “immoral display” at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics and called for a unified stance against acts that ridicule sacred values, according to a statement from Erdogan’s office.
The slow fade of denominational publishing
If the 1970s were dubbed in Christian circles as “the bookstore revolution,” the first two decades of the 21st century might be more aptly referred to as the bookstore roller-coaster. Thousands of Christian bookstores closed across the country, including mainstay chains…
Columbia University threatened with subpoenas over U.S. House antisemitism investigation
Columbia University could face subpoenas if it doesn’t comply with a U.S. House investigation into reports of rising antisemitism on college campuses.
Israel’s military starts drafting ultra-Orthodox Jews – but the battle over serving ‘the army of God’ vs. the army of the state isn’t over, and points to key questions for the country’s future
In late July 2024, the Israeli military sent out the first 1,000 conscription notices to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, following a unanimous Supreme Court ruling that the government must stop exempting them.
On Religion: Battles Over Parental Rights Are Not Going Away
The vague 22-word prayer from the New York Board of Regents was totally nondenominational: “Almighty God, we acknowledge our dependence upon Thee, and we beg Thy blessings upon us, our parents, our teachers and our Country.”
Some Think What You Preach Matters More Than What You Do. It doesn’t.
What is it that will define the destiny of the American church? Will it be the beliefs of the church or the conduct of the church? The two concepts are so distinct within Christianity that they have different names —…
AME Zion Church meeting focuses on voting initiative, new bishops
The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church launched a get-out-the vote effort, chose new bishops and finalized the restructuring of some departments during its quadrennial meeting in late July.
Ohio school district’s transgender anti-bullying policy upheld by appeals court
A divided U.S. appeals court upheld the right of a central Ohio school district to enforce policies against the bullying of transgender students, rejecting an effort by a conservative parents group to block enforcement.
Rev. Barber’s new book demystifies poverty: ‘Black people are not the problem’
When Tim Tyson first invited the Rev. William Barber II to meet with a group of white residents of Mitchell County, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, Barber half jokingly replied, “I knew you were gonna get me killed.”
Mennonites march 135 miles to White House for Gaza cease-fire
Many of the Mennonites who marched over 135 miles from Harrisonburg, Virginia, to the White House had someone in mind as they walked, nursing blisters and removing ticks as they crossed the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Shenandoah Valley in…
There Is Almost No ‘Liberalizing Religion’ in the United States
I just wanted to point you all to a long essay I wrote for the Deseret. It’s called: My church is closing, and I don’t know what comes next — for me, or America. No graphs there – just a lot…
Can a brush with death change politicians? It did for notorious Alabama segregationist George Wallace
Donald Trump’s narrow escape from an assassin’s bullet led me – a historian who has written about political polarization and the Civil Rights Movement – to think back to another norm-smashing populist who encountered death on the campaign trail: former Alabama governor and U.S….